Scenes of Youth
by Rowna Seria
Summary: A collection of one shots about Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in their younger days: getting into mischief, being stuck inside when it rains, slowly growing up. A usually humorous, sometimes serious series of drabbles.
1. The Well

**Scenes of Youth  
**

Description: This is going to be a collections of one shots, mostly concerning Sun Ce and Zhou Yu when they were younger and living together while Sun Jian fought in the alliance against Dong Zhuo. Some of them could be considered part of the same timeline, other not. I usually imaigne them being between 15-16 years old. I'm terrible at long stories, but I enjoy writing little, often humurous scenes. Since I already have three well underway, I thought I'd make this. I usually like to use a combination of their personalities from the game, the book, and what little history I know. It's more fun that way.

Warnings: mostly very mild SLASH. I tried to avoid it, but I can't help myself. If a particular story needs a stronger warning I'll make it at the top of the page. Also, I swear... a lot, therefore it's bound to turn up in my writing.

Disclamer: I don't own the characters and make no claim. I believe their game designs belong to Koei etc, and the rest belongs to history.

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**The Well**

Zhou Yu was walking in the back of the family's estate when he heard a faint voice calling, "Hello? ... Anyone there?" He turned about, looking for the source when he realized it was coming from the old well.

"Hello-ooo!"

An involuntary shiver ran up and down Zhou Yu's spine. Unbidden memories of his older cousin leaning close and telling him a ghost story about a woman who was drowned by her lover in the well many years ago and how her spirit called out to be saved, luring victims to the well where they'd fall in and drown too. Zhou Yu, of course, no longer believed the story, especially because no one else seemed to have heard it.

However... now that a voice was unmistakably echoing from the depths, all his doubts and childish fears returned. Zhou Yu crept forward slowly, afraid of what he would find, but unable to dismiss the fact that it could be someone who actually needed help.

Hesitantly peering over the edge, Zhou Yu could make out a figure in the shadows.

"Hey, you! Help me!"

Well, that didn't sound like something an angry, female ghost would say.

He finally recognized the voice and shadowy figure in the well, "Sun Ce?"

"Zhou Yu? Is that you? Get me out!"

"What are you doing in the well?"

"Not now, I'm wet and cold and tired. Here, try and catch the rope."

Sun Ce tossed the rope before Zhou Yu was ready, but even so it fell several feet short.

"Lean in Yu!"

Even with every intelligent fiber in his being telling him it was a terrible idea; Zhou Yu reached down for the rope. After several failed attempts, Zhou Yu leaning in further ever time, he finally caught it. Almost tumbling in while standing back up, Zhou Yu held up the rope end triumphantly, "I got it!"

From below: "Great!"

"Ce, why is the rope in with you?"

"Just tie it to something."

Zhou Yu looked around and spotted a nearby tree. He drug the rope over and tied it around the tree's trunk.

"Okay, Ce! I've tied it to a tree!" he yelled in the direction of the well.

"Awesome!" was the short reply.

Zhou Yu could see when Sun Ce began to climb out because as the rope pulled taught all of the water was wrung out of it leaving a trail of droplets on the ground.

Walking over and peering into the well, Yu asked, "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, I'm almost out of the water now!"

Zhou Yu looked back at the rope, he'd never seen one stretch so much. Then again, it did seem to be moving an awful lot. When his gazed reached the knot he realized why: it was coming undone!

He quickly dashed over and grabbed the loose end just as it began to untie completely. The sudden force with which he was slammed against the tree almost knocked the wind out of Zhou Yu, but he was able to maintain his grip on the wet rope.

He heard a strangled cry from the well at the same time, but the rope's tension remained. Zhou Yu worked to get his body away from the rough bark, bracing himself with one foot against the tree.

"Shit, Yu, what happened?" Ce called from the well, obviously flustered.

"Just keep climbing," Zhou Yu yelled back, strain evident in his tone of voice.

Once there was scrambling sounds coming from the well again, he fervently hoped Ce was somewhere near the top, as his burden wasn't exactly light. Zhou Yu could feel himself inching closer and closer to the tree, "Ce, hurry up!"

"Maybe I could," came the agitated reply, broken by scrambling, scraping, climbing sounds, "if _someone_ would give me a _hand_."

The rope finally began to go just slightly slack. When Zhou Yu looked over his shoulder, he could see a hand emerging from the well, then the rest of the fore arm, then another. Sun Ce called out, "Yu, whatever you're doing, now would be a really good time to help me up."

Since Ce was obviously no longer using the rope for support, Zhou Yu rushed over to try and help haul the older boy out of the well. When tugging his arms didn't help, Yu reached out and grabbed the back of Ce's tunic to get some more leverage. With a great heave, Sun Ce finally got a leg up over the side, and very soon the rest of him followed. The only problem was neither were quite prepared for the change in balance and Ce tumbled over directly on top of his friend.

"Oh! Jeez, Ce, you're soaking wet!" Yu proclaimed indignantly from beneath his sopping companion.

"Well, what did you expect? I've been trapped in a well!"

"I _expect_ you to GET UP!" Zhou Yu exclaimed adding a hearty push for emphasis.

"You don't have to gripe about it, I'm getting up!" Ce replied as he rolled off the now, likewise, considerably damp Yu.

After standing up and surveying the damage, Zhou Yu couldn't help but ask, "Ce, why were you even down there in the first place?"

Yu had never seen usually unapologetic friend look quite so chagrined, "I wanted to see what it was like..."

"You _wanted_ to-"

"Now, hear me out! Haven't you ever wondered what it is like at the bottom of a well? It's so dark and mysterious," Zhou Yu looked as if the thought had never dared to cross his practical mind, "Well... _I've_ wondered, and since the pulley seemed to be working and no one was around..."

"You thought you'd just lower yourself down?"

"I didn't expect the entire pulley system to break! Yu, don't be mad, it could have been a lot worse, I could have had a concussion. The debris just missed my head!"

If Sun Ce had thought Yu was angry before, he found out he was sorely mistaken. His friend looked like he was about to explode, or wreak havoc on unsuspecting innocents. Ce could feel himself cringing inside, dreading the coming blow—be it physical or verbal.

Instead Zhou Yu simply said "Sun Ce," in a very quite, strained voice and stormed off.

Sun Ce was too surprised to immediately follow, but he soon caught up to his friend, trying to placate his ire.

"Yu, Yu please! Listen to me-"

Zhou Yu spun around suddenly and faced him, "Do you realize you could be dead right now! You could have been hit on the head, and if the blow didn't kill you, you surely would have drowned! And what if no one came out here and you were never found? What if you were too tired to call for help! I was so stupid, what if I hadn't been able to lift you out? What if I had fallen in? I was so irresponsible! We could both be dead! You could be-"

The flow of words was suddenly stopped by a hand gently covering the flustered youth's mouth. "But it's okay. I'm okay, you're okay, we're both okay..."

Ce was trying to be helpful, but it looked like his friend was about to go from raging mad to crying, and the possibility freaked him out a little. He was even more surprised when Zhou Yu lowered his head onto his shoulder. Zhou Yu said very quietly, "We're not exactly okay... we're rather wet.

That made Sun Ce laugh, and with it the tension broke. Sun Ce knew he was forgiven. "You might be 'rather wet,' but I'm soaked! Come one, let's go find a nice, sunny place to dry off."

Zhou Yu raised his head and smiled. Too perfect. Sun Ce felt guilt creep in; Zhou Yu may have called himself irresponsible, but the real fault lay with Ce. He made his friend worry, and yet here he was receiving that kind, forgiving, beautiful smile.

Beautiful, the idea made his head turn. It was as if something inside of him had flipped over.

"Where do you suggest?" asked Zhou Yu, always a perfect gentleman when it came to these things.

It took Sun Ce a few moments to clear his head and reply, "I know a good spot where the sunlight hits the hillside just right, follow me."

He would have to save these strange thoughts for later, now it was more important to dry off and repair the damage his little foray into the mysterious unknown had caused.


	2. Music in the Rain

Music in the Rain

The rain had really begun to pour. Zhou Yu wouldn't have minded except for the fact that it had been raining for the past three days as well; and, it wasn't so much that Zhou Yu minded the fact as he just so happened to be best friends with one of the most active and outdoorsy people in the land. As a result of the rain, he was trapped indoors with said friend, and that was the source of his discontentment. The first day had been no problem. They used the time to study and play a game of Go. The second day was a repeat of the first, but with Sun Ce beginning to look bored and complaining about the weather. The third day saw Sun Ce completely unable to do anything but pace about the house and loudly declare: if the rain lightened even in the slightest the next day, he was going outside _no matter what_.

Unfortunately the next day brought even heavier rain. While Sun Ce's mother began to speculate about the very real dangers from flooding in the neighborhood at breakfast, Sun Ce slammed down his bowl and stormed out of the dining room. Zhou Yu was actually surprised, and impressed, that his friend had enough restraint to keep himself from throwing it against the wall.

After Zhou Yu had excused himself from the table he found Sun Ce sulking in one of the less-used sitting rooms. He had moved a chair right next to the window and was staring outside as if his gaze alone could change the weather. Without a word Zhou Yu walked over and stood next to his friend to watch the rain. The water running off the roofs look like a waterfall and the courtyard resembled a small river, rather than a garden path. It seemed as if the scene was in constant motion, the flowing water animating the buildings and the trees. Yet what struck Zhou Yu was the sound: a constant, soothing drumming. If he listened closely he could even recognize the different objects the rain struck by the timbre and pitch of the sound. The deep drumming of the rain on the roof reverberating inside, the higher, cutting sound of it striking the stone walks outside, the sound of water on water gushing off the roof into large puddles, and even the tone of rain striking some small bit of metal—perhaps a tool left out before the storm.

Zhou Yu's trance was broken by Sun Ce's voice, "Do you think I could go outside anyway?" his tone was soft, almost pleading.

"No," was Zhou Yu's blunt answer, "I don't think so. You could catch cold and then you'd be sick when it is finally nice outside."

Sun Ce stuck out his tongue and said, "You're probably right."

Turning to look at his friend, he added, "What were you looking so thoughtful about?"

"Oh, I was just listening to the sounds of the rain."

"And next you'll tell me it's musical."

"It is!" Zhou Yu replied sharply.

Sun Ce smiled so his friend would know he was teasing, "Now, playing your flute I understand, but the rain?"

"It has a rhythm, a tone, a mood. Just listen."

They were both silent. Sun Ce looked out the window again. After a time he spoke quietly, "Music would be nice."

Zhou Yu was surprised, "You would like me to play?"

Sun Ce had occasionally paused to listen when he'd practiced before, but he'd never asked.

Turning to consider Yu with an unusually thoughtful expression, he said, "Maybe not the flute, it's not really flute playing weather. Does that make any sense?"

With a smile and a small chuckle, Zhou Yu responded, "Actually, it makes a great deal of sense, and I agree."

"Do you play anything else?"

It was Zhou Yu's turn to look thoughtful and unusually perturbed. After a pause he spoke, "I have been practicing the zither and have obtained some level of technical skill, but..."

"But what?"

And here Zhou Yu looked quite annoyed with himself, "The... _spirit_ of it escapes me."

Sun Ce looked disappointed, "So you won't play for me?"

"It's the instrument I feel like playing, but I'm afraid my performance won't be very satisfactory."

The little frown on Zhou Yu's face bothered his friend, and Sun Ce wanted to erase is, "Oh, I'm sure you're not that bad Yu, better than I'd ever be. After all, it's not like I'm a judgmental audience or anything. If you want to play, I'd like to hear you."

With a sigh Zhou Yu assented and left to fetch his instrument. After he was gone, Sun Ce let a big grin stretch across his face. He always liked hearing his friend play, even if he was too self-critical sometimes. It gave Sun Ce an excuse to encourage him more.

Zhou Yu soon returned with the zither and took a settled in near the back wall. First, Zhou Yu tested the instrument's tone. This was something he was very particular about, Sun Ce had noticed, so there was no way he was going to interrupt.

When he finally began playing, Sun Ce was swept away. It started out as just a few, wandering notes, pattering away and grew into a cascade of sound. Intervals of notes, rhythmic strums, and on top of all this sound the whisper of a melody-another language all its own. Sun Ce found himself staring out the window, the restlessness inside him momentarily stilled.

Part way through the performance, Sun Ce's enjoyment of the moment was interrupted by the pattering of little feet echoing down the hall, quite loudly. Sun Ce looked over, the music had stopped and it seemed Zhou Yu had been distracted too. They could hear the nurse's voice calling down the hall after the sound of footsteps. When Zhou Yu noticed his older friend's gaze, he smiled and said, "It sounds like someone else would like to be outside."

"Oh, it's probably just little Kuang running around naked. As soon as you take his clothes off to change he always runs away."

"Enjoying his freedom?"

"I think he just likes to feel the breeze on his baby skin."

They smiled.

"That performance was pretty amazing, even so."

"It was the best I've ever played, nothing like when I practiced before."

"Really?" said Sun Ce, surprised.

With a content glance to the rain outside, Zhou Yu replied, "I think I understood something about the instrument I didn't before."

"...When you play, is that what you hear when you listen to the rain?" asked Sun Ce, honest curiosity shining on his face.

The question startled Zhou Yu, but he gently smiled and replied, "Not exactly. The music is more a combination of the environment, instrument and musician."

"What _do_ you hear?"

"Oh, the different sounds the rain makes," he didn't want to bore his friend with a long description of a sensation even he did not fully comprehend, so Zhou Yu focused on single instances, "For example, I can hear the difference in sound between the rain on the roof and outside on the ground. Sometimes I notice small things. Right now there's something mettle outside making the high, metallic plunking noise. I know that isn't really a helpful description, but-" Zhou Yu trailed off when he noticed the change of expression on Sun Ce's face.

"Shit... shit, shit, _shit_!" the older boy swore as he leapt to his feet.

"Ce, what is it?" asked Zhou Yu, concern rising in his chest.

"Damn it! I forgot my spear outside!" and with that panicked declaration Sun Ce dashed out of the room and down the hall.

Zhou Yu followed at a more sedate pace and could help but smile. It seemed little Kugang wasn't the only Sun running through the house today.

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A/N: This time I was tackling something new, describing music. There was originally going to be a second part, but that one will have much more action and be more difficult to write. This has been sitting on my computer nearly complete for ages, mostly because I couldn't decide how to tackle the second part. I decided it was high time I finished it up and posted at least the part that could stand on it's own.


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